Wendy's owner says he's had inquiry for chain

Just two years after Wendy's International was sold to the owner of Arby's, a regulatory filing has raised the possibility of another sale.

Here we go again.

Just two years after Wendy's International was sold to the owner of Arby's, a regulatory filing has raised the possibility of another sale.

An unnamed buyer is considering a takeover of Wendy's/Arby's, and the company's major shareholder, Nelson Peltz, is considering the idea. Peltz made the disclosure in a regulatory filing, though he offered almost no detail.

He "recently received an oral inquiry from a third party expressing interest on a preliminary basis in a potential acquisition involving the company, which could include (Peltz's group's) participation," the filing said.

The news elicited groans from some of the people with a vested interest in Wendy's, one of the most iconic brands based in central Ohio.

"You've got to be kidding me," said Pamela Thomas Farber, daughter of Wendy's founder Dave Thomas, recalling her reaction when she learned of the possible sale on Thursday night. She is co-owner of 33 Wendy's restaurants.

Her greatest concern is that talk of a sale will be a distraction at a time when Wendy's has improved its financial performance.

Both he and Farber said they don't know enough to have an opinion about what the report might mean for their business.

At the same time, both of them view a takeover as a serious possibility, otherwise Peltz and his group wouldn't have felt the need to make a regulatory filing.

The report comes as Wendy's/Arby's is trying to bounce back from disappointing earnings. In the first quarter, the company reported a loss of $3.4 million, compared with a loss of $11 million for the same period a year earlier.

According to Schermer, Wendy's is "on the mend."

A company spokesman declined to comment. News that a sale was being explored sent Wendy's/Arby's shares up more than 7 percent to $4.65 yesterday.

The lack of detail in the filing means observers are left to examine a wide range of possibilities. Would a buyer be interested in Wendy's, Arby's or both? Would it be a merger with another restaurant company?

Joscelyn MacKay, an analyst for Morningstar, suspects that the inquiry is from another restaurant owner, not a private-equity firm.

"The combination of Wendy's and Arby's created such a large-scale company," she said. "I would really think that any kind of transaction would be to even improve on that."

But she said any news of a possible combination or buyout likely is far off.

Farber, an outspoken critic of the 2008 sale, speculated that Peltz might be planning to take the company private.

Wendy's/Arby's, based in the Atlanta area, is a holding company formed in 2008 when Wendy's was purchased by Peltz's Triarc Companies, which already owned Arby's.

Peltz's investment firm owns about 25 percent of Wendy's/Arby's.

Wendy's was founded in Columbus and later based in Dublin. Dublin-based Wendy's International continues to operate as a subsidiary of Wendy's/Arby's.